County Board of Supervisors Candidate: Terry Nagel

Burlingame Mayor Terry Nagel started out as an active community member and PTA president. She says she was recruited to run for city council after organizing residents to “to convince PG&E to spend $2.4 million fixing our circuits and reducing power outages.” For more on the candidate, visit www.terrynagel.com.

1) What would you prioritize if you got voted in?

Promoting a strong business climate that creates jobs, managing our tax dollars wisely and reforming government, expanding our transportation options and adopting a county-wide transportation plan, and promoting green initiatives.

2) Who are your primary supporters?

More than 500 community leaders and members; The Daily Post; Sandie Arnott, San Mateo County Treasurer-Tax Collector; Bill Schulte, Board Chair, Sustainable San Mateo County; Yoriko Kishimoto, Founder, Peninsula Cities Consortium and Co-Founder, Friends of Caltrain; Lee Duboc and Henry Riggs, Co-Founders, Citizens for Fair and Responsible Pension Reform and Steve Jordan, CEO, National Disaster Resiliency Center.

3) What issue do you feel most strongly about and what’s your position?

We need to address escalating employee compensation costs, which are continuing to grow while revenues shrink. Salaries and benefits are the biggest line item in the county's budget. I've been working on this issue for five years. A Compensation Task Force I appointed when I was chair of the San Mateo County Council of Cities presented more than 50 recommendations on this topic in 2009, and my own city of Burlingame has made significant progress in reducing costs.

4) What’s one thing most constituents don’t know about you?

I owned and operated a small business for 18 years, finding thousands of out-of-print books each year for universities, libraries, businesses and individuals.

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The upcoming election is a mail-in ballot only, with May 3 the deadline to postmark. (The last day to acquire a vote-by-mail ballot is April 26.) For more information, see  or visit SmartVoter.org.